Background*

Mr. Leonard Riggio, also known as Len, founded Barnes & Noble, Inc. in 1986 and served as its Chief Executive Officer from 1986 to February 2002. He served as the Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, Inc. since 1965. Mr. Riggio founded “Project Home Again,“ which plans to build and donate several hundred homes for displaced citizens in New Orleans. He served as a Treasurer of Software since 1987. He also devotes much of his time to public education. ... He lectures regularly on college campuses, has delivered several commencement addresses, and has been the keynote speaker to numerous educational and business groups across the country. He has been the Chairman at Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, Inc. since 1965. He has been the Executive Chairman of Barnes & Noble, Inc. since 1986. He has been the Chairman of Barnesandnoble.Com Inc. since 1986 and Barnes & Noble.com since February 1997. Mr. Riggio serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of B. Dalton Bookseller, Inc. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Software since 1987. He served as the Chairman of the Board of GameStop Inc. since its acquisition by Barnes & Noble in June 2000 and of Babbage's Etc. since he formed it in November 1996 to February 2002. He served as the Chairman of the Dia Art Foundation for eight years, where he led and funded the effort to build Dia:Beacon, one of the world's most highly respected and revered contemporary art museums. He has been a Director of Barnesandnoble.com Inc. and its subsidiaries B&N com, Barnes & Noble since 1986. He serves as a Director of Barnes & Noble College Bookstores Inc., a subsidiary of Barnesandnoble.com Inc. Mr. Riggio served as a Director of GameStop Corp., a subsidiary of Barnesandnoble.com Inc. from 2001 to June 21, 2011. He served as a Director of Neostar Retail Group, Inc. since 1994. He serves as a Member of the Board of the New York Fund for Public Schools, and has led the nation's first-ever private endowment for a public high school, Brooklyn Technical High School. He serves as Director of Children's Defense Fund, Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, Inc. and National Italian American Foundation. He devotes himself, as well, to many philanthropic initiatives, having served on nearly two dozen not-for-profit boards including the Children's Defense Fund, the Black Children's Community Crusade and the Italian American Foundation. Mr. Riggio has received numerous awards, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the Frederick Douglass Medallion. In November 2002, he received the Americanism Award from the Anti-Defamation League, its highest honor. The award cited his work “to celebrate diversity and make the dream of freedom and equality a reality for so many Americans.“ He holds honorary doctorate degrees from Baruch College of the City University of New York, Bentley College and Long Island University. He has been inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs at Babson College and the Texas A&M Retail Hall of Fame. Mr. Riggio graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1958.

Board Members Memberships*

Chairman, Member of Executive Committee, Member of Nominating Committee, Member of Special Committee, Chairman of B&N Com, Chairman of Barnes & Noble, Chairman of Barnes & Noble College Bookstores Inc, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble College Bookstores Inc and Director of GameStop Corp

Our data partners will research the update request and update the information on this page if necessary. Research and follow-up could take several weeks. If you have questions, you can contact them at bwwebmaster@businessweek.com.